next day

From pleasant hours spent thinking about the passage of time to a day of chaos again. The air turns even colder (never moving past the upper thirties), the rain comes down and Ed tackles the issue of the gas pipes. I am useless in this, except very early on, when  I help him select the proper tubes at Menards, along with the T’s, the elbows and the nipples. (I get the "T" and the "elbow," but why "nipple"?)

I disappear to do my own work, tedious today, really, the kind of stuff that you put off, and all the while I am thinking – this would be so much pleasanter on a warm day.





In the evening, Ed is still hammering away at the rocks that are at the foundation of the house. The pipe must past through a slice of these and he is hoping that at some point it will all crumble and create space. It doesn’t.

He’s tired, I’m tired from watching him. The heat is off of course, but what a piddley inconvenience! There is still so much to do at the farmhouse, but I need Ed’s help for most of it and so I hold off, concentrating instead on washing windows. I’m always good at cleaning.

I have to wonder if Ed is tired of being the Hercules here, whether it was much pleasanter for him to think retirement type thoughts – to plant? To throw wood chips? To take a nap on the floor with his cat, Isis?

We’ll eat frozen stuff today, because there is a microwave now that can thaw and warm – a monster microwave, chosen by me for its price and good ratings, certainly not for its size. You could do a turkey in that thing. Maybe we’ll have to. If the stone refuses to crumble and the stove never meets the gas pipe.


How about some upbeat notes? Oh, there are so many! The table is cleared of debris, the living room is passable, and there are flowers, lovely spring flowers – the aftermath of a birthday.






And, too, there are the blooms outside. Still terribly lonely out there. Single children, trying to make the best of a cold, cold spring.





LATER:

Nina? 

I’m here. 

Could you come down and help sniff? 

What??

If you put your nose close to the joints, you’ll be able to tell if there is a leek. 

You’re relying on my nose???

It’s quite accurate, really.

It’s merely a doublecheck. The joints and links are solid as can be.

But, when Ed turns the gas back on, the furnace isn’t working. And the refrigerator door is banging the counter, and elsewhere the quartz is scratched.

We eat the frozen lasagna, reheated in the microwave. I never thought I’d say too many kind words about the microwave, but it surely gave us a very pleasant dinner. A needed break, after which, every good outcome seemed possible again.